Poster campaign to target loan sharks among migrant communities. Please share these flyers in Leeds.
Posters/ flyers in 20 different languages have been produced by the England Illegal Money Lending Team as it strives to target previously unreached communities that may be struggling with loan sharks.
Visit www.stoploansharks.co.uk/resources to access the flyers.
Stop Loan Sharks has worked with ClearVoice translation company to produce flyers in the languages:
- Bengali
- Dari
- Lithuanian
- Latvian
- Pashto
- Urdu
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Chinese (simplified)
- Czech
- Farsi
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Kurdish Sorani
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Romanian,
- Russian
- Tigrinya
The posters / flyers are saved as image .png files in a google drive folder for anyone to access. You can print these from a normal printer or send them to a printing company. To request printed copies email [email protected] or the Leeds Public Health Resource Centre
Message from The England Illegal Money Lending Team, hosted by Birmingham City Council:
I’m contacting you today to let you know about a recent project, and also to ask for your help.
Over the last 12 months, we have been particularly concerned about illegal money lenders/loan sharks targeting individuals whose first language is not English. Loan sharks target anyone they perceive as vulnerable. For someone who is new to the country who may not speak much English, the process of accessing credit here may seem complicated and protracted. Challenges providing identification, having no/little income, or no credit score, can all result in people being targeted by what may appear to be a concerned local, possibly speaking the same language, offering to ‘help’ with a loan. Unfortunately this can lead to being charged extortionate interest and subjected to a range of threats, intimidation and harassment. Presently, there is a real risk that people are not aware that the situation they are in, is illegal lending and they may not know where to access help and support.
I am pleased to advise that we have worked with ClearVoice translation company and now have resources translated into 20 languages, including: Bengali, Dari, Lithuanian, Latvian, Pashto, Urdu, Arabic, Chinese, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Farsi, Hindi, Hungarian, Kurdish Sorani, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Tigrinya.
The material can be used to share on social media or can be printed in flyer or leaflet format. Alternatively, if you would benefit from physical copies, please let me (Trish Cassidy, Credit Union LIAISE Officer, [email protected]) know your address, the language required, and quantity and I will arrange a delivery.
If you manage a social media page for individuals of one of the selected language, please contact [email protected], we’d be keen to hear how you can help get reach.
I would love to get these resources shared to all partners and organisations who support individuals on the listed 20. Therefore, please share with any partners you have who might benefit. I’m keen to expand my network of agencies, supporting those whose first language is not English.
If the new resources do add value, please let me know. We hope to do a similar thing with another 20 languages next year, however, this will depend on their worth.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards
Trish
☎️ Stop Loan Sharks 24-Hour Helpline: 0300 555 2222
🌐 www.stoploansharks.co.uk (Live Chat available 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri)
Dave Benbow, acting head of the IMLT, said:
“Illegal lenders will target anyone they perceive as vulnerable. For someone who is new to the country who may not speak much English, the process of accessing credit here may seem complicated and protracted.
“This is where illegal lenders can step in; they might come across as a concerned local who wants to help or may even speak the language and make the borrower feel at ease as though they are a friend.
“Sadly, that can be where the friendly approach ends as the lender traps the borrower in a cycle of debt and misery.
“We want to make sure no section of the community is left at the mercy of these predatory criminals, and we want to make sure everyone knows exactly where and how they can get help and support if they need it.”
Dave said the challenge for the team was that the phrase ‘loan shark’ with all its connotations did not immediately translate into all languages, so the help of expert translators from the countries concerned was vital to ensure the messages were conveyed effectively.
“We are confident these resources do that, and we hope they are useful for partners in different areas of the country to use to reach these potential borrowers and stop them being targeted by illegal lenders,” he added.
“We do have access to interpreters, so people shouldn’t be afraid of calling our team if they do need help. They can contact us in confidence on our 24/7 hotline, via email or on the Live Chat facility.”
Rachael Tew, Head of Partnerships at Clear Voice, added:
“We were delighted to work with IMLT on such an important project. Here at Clear Voice, we understand the importance of breaking down language barriers, our team of translators and interpreters understand colloquialisms, and the need to ensure clarity for all. As a Social Enterprise we relish the opportunity to help support vulnerable people and ensure everyone can be made aware of such an important issue.”
